Summary

Life in prison is extensively regulated by the legal provisions of different levels, ranging from international treaties to single acts issued at the administrative level. The article addresses one of them – internal procedure of a prison – as this is the document based on which the director of the prison controls the prison as a whole. The internal procedure provides for virtually everything concerning the organisation of life of a prisoner as well as for other circumstances that need to be regulated. The internal procedure creates a primary legal framework around the prisoner.

In order to change the legal effect of instruments of law, the Administrative Procedure Act, Code of Administrative Court Procedure Act, and the State Liability Act provide for a variety of means that should cover everything concerning the rights and complaints of individuals under law. Therefore, prisons face several procedural challenges regarding the interpretation and processing of different applications based on different grounds from prisoners to change the internal procedure, as well as regarding situations in which a prisoner becomes entitled to lodge a complaint against the internal procedure as a legal remedy.

The article clarifies the nature of the internal procedure as a legal act and addresses the options to terminate the legal effect of an internal procedure in a complaint procedure or in a procedure outside the realm of legal remedies.